Company sued for using counterfeited versions of Windows 7

Nov 12, 2012 11:11 GMT  ·  By
Illegal copies of Windows 7 have been installed on multiple computers, private detectives have found
   Illegal copies of Windows 7 have been installed on multiple computers, private detectives have found

Microsoft continues its anti-piracy struggle with a new lawsuit filed against One1 Software Technologies, a subsidiary of One System Integrations.

The Redmond-based technology company claims that One1 Software used computers with illegal copies of the Windows 7 operating system and asks for up to $1.2 million (€940,000) in damages.

“The respondents are grossly violating the claimant's rights, illegally enriching themselves at its expense,” Microsoft said in the complaint filed with the Central District Court.

The case, however, is much simpler than it appears to be. One1 Software Technologies had previously purchased Windows 7 OEM copies sold by Microsoft for Lenovo workstations, but it seems that the company actually installed them on HP computers.

“The claimant has concrete information indicating that the transaction by the respondent seriously violates the rights of the claimant, and it appears that the respondent is systematically trampling the claimant's rights. The respondent sells computers with forged authenticity labels, in which pirated versions of the claimant's products are installed without a license,” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft came down to a pretty effective method to identify those who use pirated Windows copies: private detectives. Globes.co.il writes that Microsoft has used private detectives to make sure that the company investigated was indeed running counterfeited software.

One1 Software Technologies, on the other hand, didn’t find out about the lawsuit and said it was looking into the complaint.

“Subsidiary One Integration Systems was surprised to receive the statement of claim, and it is studying the claims made in it. However, a preliminary perusal of the claim indicates that the subsidiary acted properly with regard to all claims made in the suit, and in any case the amount of the claim is not extreme and there appears to be no link between it and the amount of damages claimed by the claimant,” the company said in a statement.